Sunday, 4 September 2011

A quiet weekend

I have bought a fabulous farm from a cherry tree shop. For those who are new to my blog, cherry tree shops are charity shops. I just call them "cherry tree", as it's something my mum, my sister and I always say.

Anyway the farm is originally from the Early Learning Centre and I got it from Help The Aged for £4.50. It is brilliant and the kids have been keeping very quiet and not hassling me as much while they build the farm and sort out the animals. Giving me free time to blog!

It has loads more animals but the Prince keeps knocking them over and throwing them around his room!

There are more buildings to set up too but I cant be jiggered today

Other news this weekend is that I won an Ebay bid for two duplicate rabbit comforters. Those of you who have followed my blog for a bit may remember the Prince lost his beloved "Noo Noo" (which he'd had since birth and took EVERYWHERE) while in Whitstable several weeks back.

Well, we already had one replacement but it took a while for the second Noo Noo to be accepted. Then I saw a pair on Ebay for £4.99 and I was thrilled. They arrived yesterday. I've washed them and rubbed them against his older one and already done a swap over so that eventually they will all be old and smelly (why do kids love their toys like this, utterly vile if you ask me).

The Prince eyed up Noo Noo suspiciously (after I did the surreptitious swap) and I glossed over it saying I 'd quickly washed him and didn't he look lovely and almost like new? How come two-year-olds are so astute?

I'd also written a story for the local rag in Whitstable in the hope that someone would find the original Noo Noo and return him , but alas, so far it was all in vain. But he got good coverage including a mention on the front page (underneath stories of crime, accidents and vandalism it said "Have you seen Noo Noo?" as if he was Britain's most wanted...) Then he got half a page inside!

We'd had one false sighting a couple of weeks ago and the news editor of the Whitstable Times called to inform me that someone had phoned her as they'd seen an elderly couple place something that look like Noo Noo on a bench outside a charity shop. When I called the charity shop, I got as far as "Hello, my son has lost his rabbit..." and she interrupted me and said "Oh you must be talking about Noo Noo? I think everyone is looking for him, I've already been trawling the streets! I will call you if he ever turns up."

Sadly he wasn't on that bench and has never been found.

But amazing kindness in a seaside town. And here we go, these duplicate beauties came through the post box yesterday. FAR more welcome twins than Jedward.

"Hello, I'm Noo Noo, and he's Noo Noo and together we are NOO NOO!!"

Spot the older replacement, seriously in need of a wash

Oh ok, I'll move on from Noo Noo now (wonder how many followers I just lost)

The Princess made a frittata for lunch yesterday and did a great job, bless her. We had a lovely afternoon just cooking, stewing apples from our trees and chatting while the boys did the gardening. Autumn is well and truly here, it's time for loads of baking and much raking of leaves.

"Would you like a cherry pie, son?" and this was the response above!

Messing up himself and his father

It's the first weekend where we have just been at home and taken it nice and easy for absolutely ages. Family time is so important isn't it? The husband had this weekend off and it's been lovely. We had a curry and wine last night and watched TV and we have a DVD to watch after dinner tonight. Blue Valentine I think it's called. Anyone seen it?

Tomorrow is the last "proper" day of the school hols as I am at work on Tues and then the Princess starts junior school on Wednesday. I've just ironed all her new uniform, labelled it and we're ready to start a brand new term. Summer went so fast. Sad really, I love the sun.

23 comments:

Oh NOO NOO! I love a happy ending :) noo noo's are very cute i must say as are your children.....mmmm cherry pie!I just saw your older posts,1.how gorgeous is your mum! and 2.how many kiddies were in that bed lolxxx

Glad you've managed to pull the wool over his eyes re: Noo Noo although I'm not surprised he was suspicious - did you see that film a couple of years ago where Angelina Jolie's child is kidnapped and the police palm her off with some random child they insist is hers? We know our loved ones! This is why 'Bear' is not allowed to leave the house except for overnight visits - she is so chewed and disgusting we could never hope to replicate her.

I think there was a board on Mumsnet for a while called Toys Reunited...

The house is empty at the moment which is why i hadn't said were it is,you never know who's reading in ,its on the east coast and we are over every weekend doing all the work ourselves and we will be moving into it next Summer,i know what you mean about living by the sea as i'm the same,the beach is the one i played on as a child and we had a holiday home here too with my sister when she was alive so lots of memories for me,Steve said i have to clear up that he is NOT the guy in the first pic and that he has hair lolxxxgood luck with the original noo noo x

Cute rabbits! I used to call Help the Aged, 'Help the Haggard'. Is that awful of me? I liked to have names for all the chazzer shops.The Prince has such a cute grin. I love that he is now a mini celeb in Whitstable.Your weekend sounds lovely. It is still sunny here, but not for much longer methinks. xx

What a completely lovely Mum you are - I'm soooooooo impressed with the newspaper appeal. I think you can honestly say you have left no stone unturned in your search for the original Noo Noo. My daughter has Floppy - I think there's a pic of him on my sidebar - who is her Noo Noo equivalent. So worried was I that she ever lost him, I tracked down an identical one on eBay about five years ago and hid him in my wardrobe. He's still there! My hubby and I call him Flippy and think he may be Floppy's evil twin as he has a slight glint of menace in his eye!!

Wow! no stone has been unturned in the hunt for Noo Noo. Hope he turns up one day and your little boy looks so cute.

We have skank dog (so you can imagine the state of it) in our house, owned by our youngest girl. She is puppy mad and loves this little cheapy dog my nan brought her when she was about 18 mths - 2 yrs old. It NEVER leaves the house, she loses it about ten times a week but at least we know he will turn up eventually in some cupboard, apron or other random place. So if she took it away from the home and lost it, it would be a real disaster for her. No matter how many tiny other pups she has she always has to know this one is there for her. She actually broke down and cried when reunited with him after our holiday!

I love autumn and all the cosiness about it. Sounds like you had a lovely weekend.

"Oh, you must be talking about NooNoo"Cutest line ever!! And how sweet they are all out looking for him!!Totally feeling your pain with this! My eldest was continually losing his "bubby", and life was a constant nightmare trying to find him! He's now 18, so not such an issue anymore. However my youngest has her own "stinky Toby" BFF toy, who I live in constant fear will be lost. To the point that I attempted to crochet a replacement stinky toby, in the hope that if the original gets lots, she can just swap her affections to this one. Pointless I know!! Plus he ended up super creepy looking :)

Ohmegosh. Haven't labelled school uniform.Deffo do tomorrow!Am so glad you have NooNoo replacements. My son has his two monkeys now, but still prefers the older one (who is at this moment dressed in some sort of sugar-paper-robot-costume, as you do).Enjoy your week!Xx

Oh man, I LOVE the newspaper article. You rock! I hope you're saving that for the Prince's 18th Birthday celebration - ha! Look at the absolute anguish on his dear little face in the newspaper pic. Bless. Shame old Noo Noo didn't turn up but so nice to hear that the residents of Whistable are keeping an eye out. Sounds like Noo Noo is a bit of a celeb too. The bit about 'false sightings' tickled me, I have to say.

Your children are truly gorgeous. Couldn't you exploit them by having them model for The White Company, Boden, Joules or something equally posh that features healthy-looking kids? Perhaps you could make Evil Tuesdays a thing of the past and have your little ones bringing home the bacon instead? :-)

Serious? Your townsfolk sent you some replacement Noo Noos? How sweet!!!! I don't know WHAT we'd do if Trouble lost his monkey. I have no idea what brand it even is or where to get a replacement. I don't even want to think about it.

Oh the pain and dread of losing a precious Noo noo after being in you predicament more than a few times (The kids must have my losing things gene's )our said noo noo's no longer leave the house !!! I am a jailer of noo noo's... when they were younger I made a silly story of their things guarding and looking after the other toys in the house (they have always loved Toy Story )EASY PEASY !! what a wicked mother you are thinking,Well ,I let them take other less important cuddly's out and about, so I wasn't to bad ,but we never had no more disasters again dunhuhh!!!So I hope one day you will find the famous and elusive noo noo,but in the mean time I think youv'e got It covered and your beautiful little boy looks very happy :).........X Manda X.........

Oh Gem, it is so nice to see your visit! And you like the music? I LOVE THE ROMANTICS and just the fun and loud beat!!! During the school year, I introduce my kids to the Beatles. It is amazing that some of them already know who they are. GOTTA HAVE MUSIC in my classroom!

Hey, lovely to see you at mine!And glad noo noo's have multiplied...you'll never be without one now!(little mikey has disappeared in the house somewhere! I'll probably never see him again)I have to admit I loved the peace today -and the boys are exhausted! Hooray.Fee x(I love Anita's comments. my Mum says she looks forward to them more than my blog!)

Lol Gem,poor NooNoo,hope he does turn up, at least you have replacements,hehe.My 12 year old daughter still has her blankies ,all hanging, but she wont part with them,they have a smell apparently,(your telling me,they do!!)Love the cherry tree farm set,what a bargain!Yep,Autumn feels well and truly on its way.take care,hun,love julie.xxx

So the NooNoos weren't from the townsfolk, huh? I guess I should read things a little more closely! lol! To answer your Q on my blog, we live a few miles from the beach. But it's not the sunny california they portray on T.V. We live in NorCal where it's cold, foggy, and rainy more often than sunny. When we do get sun, it's really nice though b/c it doesn't get too hot to actually enjoy it.So the Prince calls a hen a cab, huh? That's too funny! I love what kids come up with!!

Hi Gem,Thank you for your kind comments,i hope your little one is enjoying herself,not too long now and she will be home to tell you all about it.I am sewing and watching Emma at the moment my boy has just left for the gym so a nice afternoon for me,i have the heating on though its really cold here today,Love to you xxx

Me, Myself & I

I am a freelance writer and proof reader as well as a mum to three children - two girls and a boy. When I am not glued to my laptop, tackling washing or sorting out squabbles, I love finding a bargain. Therefore I love charity shops, jumble sales, NCT sales, garage sales and those little sales that cute kids in quaint villages hold outside their house, and you feel compelled to buy something, even if it is just some old tat. Car boot sales don't hold the key to my heart as much, but I think that's purely down to the fact I once got sun stroke at one...